On Broken Wings I'm Falling
by SpookyClaire
Summary: AU: In a universe where humans have wings, Blaine's less than proud of his wings since they'd been destroyed the night of the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Blangst.
1. Chapter 1

**On Broken Wings I'm Falling**: In a universe where humans have wings, Blaine's less than proud of his wings since they'd been destroyed the night of the Sadie Hawkins Dance

Enjoy!

00

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to." Kurt whispered, breathless as he watched Blaine's trembling hands reach for the buttons of his shirt.

"N-no." Blaine said, voice quivering just like his hands. "I—I want you to see."

Kurt, already shirtless himself, leaned forward and covered Blaine's hands with his own, guiding their fingers down the buttons until his shirt was completely off. Slipping his fingers under the hem of Blaine's undershirt, Kurt slid it up Blaine's chest, over his head until he was completely topless. Kurt ignored the quiver that ran through his body as his eyes swept over Blaine's bare torso. Blaine didn't move for a moment, frozen in insecurity, until slowly he slipped his eyes closed and a soft swishing sound sounded through the room.

Kurt bit back a gasp at the sight before him.

Protruding from Blaine's back were the most frayed set of wings Kurt had ever seen. His left wing was about half the length of his right, the edges uneven, some the feathers pointing in different directions as if the root hadn't healed right. His right wing was longer, about five feet out, Kurt guessed that was Blaine's original length, a 10-foot wingspan. But though the right wing was longer, it wasn't any better off. There were patches in the middle where feathers were missing, like the roots had been permanently damaged when the feathers had been ripped out. The edges of this wing too were uneven, the tip of the wing bent oddly like the bone had been broken and then not set to heal.

But that wasn't the most striking thing about Blaine's wings. His wings were the most gorgeous color Kurt had ever seen before. At the base they were a muted gold, then fading across to the tip into a dark navy blue shade. It was like nothing Kurt had ever seen. Despite the abuse the wings had obviously taken, they were still so gorgeous. So Blaine. Rough at first glance, but actually stunningly beautiful.

At Kurt's silence a blush creeped across Blaine's face, his wings curling around him slightly in his embarrassment.

"May I?" Kurt breathed, his fingers slowly reaching out to Blaine's wing but not quite touching. Blaine simply nodded, looking lost. Kurt reached all the way, fingers slowly running through Blaine's feathers as they made contact. They were as soft as they were beautiful, softer than Kurt's own feathers (and he treated his every night). He ran his hand up and down the end of Blaine's right wing. He slowly brought his other hand up to touch Blaine's small wing.

"It was the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance." Blaine whispered suddenly, watching Kurt's face closely. Kurt nodded needing no more explanation. He couldn't imagine what kind of excruciating pain Blaine must have gone through that night getting his feathers ripped out, his wings broken, _torn in half_. Kurt's breath came out shallow and uneven at the thought.

"They're beautiful." He found himself finally saying aloud before he realized it, taking one feather in between his thumb and forefinger.

"What?" Kurt looked from the wing back to Blaine's face. The junior looked shocked, completely disbelieving. Without a word of explanation Kurt slowly freed his own wings. (His were a solid chocolate brown, soft as satin, and had a twelve-foot wing span.) Blaine said nothing either, eyes turning to his boyfriend's wings. They were wings he'd seen before, but every time he saw them…from the look on his face you'd think it was the first time.

Slowly Kurt curled his wings around himself, much as Blaine was, and laced his feathers within Blaine's. He pressed their wings together in a cocoon around the two of them, making his perfect wings and Blaine's tattered ones fade together as one.

Taking Blaine's hands in his, Kurt brought them up so they were pressed softly in between their bare chests. He softly kissed Blaine's knuckles before tilting his head so their foreheads touched. Kurt leaned slowly and pressed their lips together lightly, chastely. "They're perfect." He breathed, lips barely removed from Blaine's.

"Do you really think so?" Blaine asked, voice cracking as a lone tear escaped his eye.

Kurt nodded, a soft smile gracing his lips as he looked deep into Blaine's eyes. "_You're_ perfect. You're absolutely perfect."


	2. Chapter 2

**On Broken Wings I'm Falling**: The gleeks want to use their wings in their choreography for Nationals, but Blaine doesn't want any of them to see his destroyed wings. Cue the blangsty flashback.

Enjoy!

00

Blaine's breath caught in his throat as he and Kurt entered the auditorium for rehearsal to find everyone already in costume…with their wings free. And it wasn't that Blaine hadn't seen their wings before, he'd seen everyone's either in real life or in pictures. Apparently when the New Directions got drunk, wings were the biggest turn on. So taking off their shirts and letting their wings free was a frequent part of weekend parties for this group.

What made Blaine panic was the fact their wings were clearly going to be a part of their Nationals costumes.

"Blaine," From the sound of Kurt's voice, he'd clearly made the same connection. "Blaine I'll talk to Mr. Shue-"

"No, then they'll know." Blaine said, breath quickening.

"They'll know if you have to show your wings-"

"I just won't perform."

Kurt blanched at that. "Wha—Blaine, you have the solo."

"I'll give it to you. You can do it."

"First of all, it's not my key. Second of all I don't want it. It's yours-"

"Not if I give it up. Not if I don't take part in Nationals. Not if I quit glee. I'll quit glee. Yeah, I'll-"

"Blaine, breathe!" Kurt said, quickly taking his boyfriend by the shoulders. "Seriously, take a breath…there you go. Ok, look. Just sit tight, I'll go talk to Shue, ok?" Blaine nodded like a bobble head, trying to catch his breath, before he watched Kurt run off to find their choir director.

"Blaine!" The teen jumped as his name was called. "Dude, come put on your costume!" Blaine glanced back to the auditorium doors where Kurt had disappeared and then back up to his friends on the stage. "C'mon, dude!"

With shaking legs and without a word Blaine walked down the steps of the auditorium and then climbed up onto the stage. The costumes for both boys and girls seemed to be plain white shirts and black pants.

_Just put on the clothes,_ _you don't have to let your wings out, _he rationalized. Without looking at anyone he quickly stepped backstage and threw on his outfit. Once dressed, he reached behind his back, touching the wing slits hesitantly. _This is a bad idea. This is not good._

Without a word Blaine walked back out to his friends. "There you are! C'mon, let us see those wings of yours, B!" Artie said eagerly, his wings flapping slightly in his excitement.

"What?" Blaine asked breathlessly as he numbly shook his head, "N-no. No, your wings take up enough room for the both of us, Artie." He tried to joke, even if it was a little lame.

"C'mon, gel-head." Santana said, turning her attention from where she'd been neatening Brittany's feathers. "We were just saying how we've never seen your wings. Show us those flappers!"

"You guys have seen them." Blaine quickly lied, "You were all just too drunk to remember."

"Warbler, that is a lie." Puck said, "I don't _get_ drunk. And I don't remember your wings ever coming out."

"Why is it such a big deal to you guys?" Blaine asked, laughing awkwardly and stepping towards the stairs on the stage.

"Why is it to you?" Brittany asked, her voice not challenging in any way but just curious. _She's more intuitive than people give her credit for_, Blaine thought to himself, annoyed with her (for the first time) for it.

"I-" Blaine didn't get the chance to stumble over his words for another second as the doors to the auditorium opened and Kurt and Mr. Shue walked in.

All attention turned to the two as their choir director spoke, "Change of plans guys. Looks like we won't be working our wings into the choreography." He said, glancing to Blaine as he said it. Despite the look of sympathy – or was it pity? – in the teacher's eye, Blaine still shrank back, embarrassed that someone else now knew about his hideous wings.

"Wait, what?" Rachel demanded, landing on the stage with a hard _thump_ as her wings abruptly stopped pumping. "But I already had some choreography worked out!"

"I know, I'm sorry." Will said, clearly apologetic, "But something's been brought to my attention so we can't-"

"What did you say to him, Kurt?" Rachel demanded, to which Blaine flinched but Kurt merely raised an eyebrow.

"Who says it was me?" He asked, voice low with apathy.

"You were just talking to him!"

"I also just said hello to a lunch lady, will tomorrow's lunch menu be my fault as well?"

"Seriously dude," Finn said, stepping in front of his girlfriend so she didn't launch herself at Kurt. "You were always the one who pushed for wing choreography, what happened?"

Kurt shrugged, still playing his apathy well. "Things change."

"Lady face, _come on_!" Santana whined, actually _whined_. "We've all wanted this for so long! And New York finally has a stage large enough to do it! Why would you ruin it?"

"Yeah, dude, seriously." Puck said, crossing his arms. "This is _bull_."

Kurt still had a look of indifference on his face but Blaine couldn't take the attacks on his boyfriend anymore. "Guys, stop it. It wasn't his fault." He spoke quietly, but all attention was immediately on him. "I asked him to talk to Mr. Shue."

"What?" Rachel snapped, turning from Kurt to Blaine. "Is that why you won't show us your wings? Jesus, Blaine, what is it? Are they small or something? We don't care! Everyone knows how bogus that rumor is about the size of a guys wings being correlated with the size of his-" Finn slapped his hand over Rachel's mouth at that, earning a sigh of relief from the others.

But soon attention was back on Blaine.

"It—it's not that-" Blaine said, taking another step back, his whole body hot in embarrassment.

"Blaine." Kurt said quickly, stepping to the edge of the stage. "You don't have to explain anything to them."

It seemed to be clicking for most of the gleeks that something serious was going on as their looks of anger melted away to ones of confusion.

But Rachel held onto her anger quite easily.

"Yes he does!" She cried, pushing Finn's hand away. Several of the others took a step back, away from her, as if to say they were no longer on board. Kurt's eyes narrowed in anger, while Blaine looked back and forth between the two, unsure of what to do. "Now we need to redo costumes and rethink choreography! Hell, why not just change our set list while we're at it!"

"Rachel, you're being a little dramatic." Mr. Shue said placatingly.

"No, I'm not! We've been asking to use wing choreography since we _started_ this club and now we're finally getting it and we have to change our mind because Blaine's a little insecure about the size of his wings?"

"It's not the size." Blaine whispered. He was quiet, almost not even audible.

"What?" Rachel snapped, spinning back around to face Blaine.

"I said it's not the size…of my wings…" Blaine shifted from foot to foot, arm reaching back again to touch the wing holes in his shirt. "I—my wings-"

"Blaine." Kurt whispered, quickly climbing up onto the stage, "Blaine you don't have to-"

"It's ok." Blaine whispered, looking up at Kurt, eyes welling up a little. At the sight Rachel's anger seemed to deflate a little, her wings shrinking back as she realized she'd crossed a line somewhere.

"I—I don't know how many of you know w-why I transferred to Dalton," Blaine started slowly, quietly, "But I—there was an incident…at a dance at my old school."

00

"Oh my God, Blaine that was incredible!" Blaine laughed outright as Alex jumped and did a little spin in the air, his flapping wings displaying his excitement.

"That was!" Blaine agreed, laughing, "The patio was beautiful!" Alex landed, turning to Blaine and taking his hand. He twirled Blaine, dipping him dramatically, to which Blaine laughed outright. "Alex!"

"What? You don't like it when I dip you?" As he said it he dipped Blaine even farther, the freshman let out a squeal of a laugh before straightening himself up. The two laughed for a moment, before the giggles awkwardly died out as they made eye contact. Quickly looking away, Blaine let out another single laugh while Alex looked up to the sky.

"What if we went for a stroll in the nighttime sky?" The gray-winged sophomore suddenly asked, looking from the sky and back to his date.

Blaine blushed at the way Alex looked at him, quickly turning his attention to the sky. "You know minors can't be out flying at this time of night." He said, still chuckling awkwardly.

"But what if we just flew away together? Away from this place?" Blaine blinked, Alex was being completely serious. "Away from the bullies and homophobes…to some place more accepting. More _fun_."

Blaine blinked again, unsure of what to say for a minute, before stumbling out, "W-we can't do that. What about our families? Not to mention your dad will be here any minute."

Alex looked back up at the sky regretfully for a minute before sighing. "Yeah, I guess."

Blaine bit his lip, the mood had clearly been killed. "Alex, I-"

"I thought you pretty boys would have been smart enough to have gotten out of here by now." Blaine spun around at the voice. Behind him stood three seniors, they were big enough on their own but each had wide, large wings that were out and flared, ready to intimidate.

"What?" Blaine asked breathlessly, unable to come up with anything else to say.

"You little faggots thought you could come here _together_ and get away with it?" The one snarled, taking a threatening step forward. Blaine took a step back, wings curling around him.

"We weren't hurting anybody." Alex said quickly, almost challengingly. Blaine's hands began to shake.

"You shut your fucking mouth, fruitcake." The tallest one, Blaine thought his name was Troy, snarled. "You don't get to talk to me that way. You don't get to talk to me at _all_." He took another threatening step forward, fists rising.

Behind him Blaine could hear the swooshing sound of Alex taking flight, and Blaine quickly followed suit. Pumping his wings he pushed off the ground, only making it about four feet up when he felt rough hands grip his wings and tug hard.

Blaine screamed in pain and surprise as his wings were forcefully pulled back, throwing him violently to the ground. His head slammed hard into the concrete as he felt someone step on his right wing, putting all their weight on it so he couldn't get away. Blaine screamed as hands began to rip at his feathers, tugging them out by the handful.

"Alex!" Blaine screamed beggingly, opening his eyes (when had he closed them?) to see Alex still up in the air…but he was _flying away_. "ALEX!" The sophomore didn't even look back. "ALEX–!" Blaine words cut off for another agonized scream as pain exploded in his left wing. As the sound of ripping flesh filled the night, Blaine's world went dark.

00

"…w-when I woke up I…I had half a wing, and my other one wasn't much better. They had—they had actually ripped my left wing in half. And the right—it was broken in a few place, and my feathers never did grow back in some spots." Blaine glanced behind him to see he'd freed his wings at some point in the story. The right one flapped uselessly, his left one merely twitching. Humiliation filled him as he realized how repulsive he must look to his friends. His wings began to curl around him at the thought. "I—these wings—this is why I didn't want to show you." His words were whispered, hardly audible, but everyone heard him.

"Blaine I—I'm so sorry-" Rachel said awkwardly, breathlessly. "I was so wrong-"

"Maybe next time think before you freak out, princess." Kurt snarled, surprising his best friend with his malice.

"Guys," Blaine said quickly, his voice still quiet. "Don't—don't fight. I just won't—I won't perform. You can do the song without me-"

"We're not doing the song without you." Tina said as if that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard.

"Yeah, man." Sam agreed, "We go on with you or not at all."

"But—my wings-"

"They're beautiful." Everyone stopped as Brittany spoke. "I've never seen a color like that."

"Stunning." Mercedes agreed with a nod.

Tears welled up in Blaine's eyes at their lack of disgust, "But I—I can't fly-" He could a look of heartbreak crossing most of their faces at his admission.

"We don't need wing choreography." Quinn said with a shrug, retracting her own wings, the others following suit. "This is a _singing_ competition after all. Resorting to fancy choreography is a cheap trick."

Rachel, suddenly back on track, nodded in agreement. "Quinn's right! Our voices are as stunning as your feathers. We don't need our wings to get the judges' attention when we have our talent!"

Blaine looked across his friends, tears welling up in his eyes. "I—I don't know what to say." He whispered. "No one—no one's ever called my wings beautiful since the attack. And I—you guys-" Blaine looked away, choking on a sob. "I don't know what to say." He repeated.

"You don't have to say anything, B." Santana's voice was soft. Blaine glanced up to see her stood before him, eyes earnest. Kurt was now at his side too, taking his hand. "You're one of us. Nothing's gonna change that."

Without another word, the normally nasty cheerio wrapped her arms around Blaine, encircling him _and_ his wings in her arms. Soon the others followed suit, piling into the hug, pulling Blaine and each other close.

"Thank you." Blaine whispered, deep within the hug, pressing his cheek against Kurt's shoulder. "I—you guys don't know how much this means to me."

"Like Santana said, boy." Puck started as everyone pulled back, "You're one of us now. It's gonna take more than some pretty wings and a sad story to escape."

Blaine laughed outright, hiccupping as his body tired to decide between laughing and crying. "Thank you." He whispered, glancing from his friends back to his wings which, for the first time in two years, were flapping in _pride_. "Just…thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

Random Drabble

00

Blaine heard him before he said anything. Blaine didn't bother to open his eyes. The swoosh of his wings could never be missed, it was dramatic and loud, just like Cooper.

"What are you doin' up here, little B?"

Blaine smiled slightly at the old nickname. Not moving, he simply said, "Flying."

There was a pause of Cooper's part. Blaine was currently sitting on the roof outside his window, a dangerous feat for someone who couldn't fly.

He had his eyes closed, his face turned up towards the sun. Behind him his flightless wings flapped slightly in delight as the sun warmed their feathers, the wind blowing through them softly. His wings beat slightly, back and forth, back and forth, in the wind as if he were flying.

It was the closest Blaine was going to get.

"You don't have to say anything." Blaine said after a moment, "I know this is probably awkward for you."

"It's not-" Blaine opened his eyes then, raising an eyebrow at his big brother. "Ok maybe I'm a little out of my element." Blaine smirked before turning back to the sky. "You seem better." Cooper's voice was soft, hopeful.

Blaine shrugged, eyes closed once again. "I'm not. I'm just sick of crying."

Blaine felt Cooper sit beside him, "I wish there was something I could do for you, B."

Blaine sighed softly, shaking his head. "Cooper, just being here is more than enough. I know your career-"

"Fuck my career. It means nothing compared to you." Cooper saif forcefully, voice cracking. "And…and those fuckers in Hollywood get old anyway. They're all the same." Blaine smiled again, eyes still closed. "I am sorry, you know…that I can't do more."

"Don't be sorry." Blaine said seriously, "Just…just fly with me."

Neither brother said anything more, they just sat on the roof, flying, for the rest of the afternoon.


	4. Chapter 4

Random Drabble

00

Cooper glanced out the window into their large back yard. He'd spent many a day out there relaxing, playing with his brother. They'd had so much fun out there, whether on the ground or in the air. But now as he stared out there, it wasn't a feeling of happiness that filled him, in fact it was the exact opposite.

Blaine was out there. He was just standing there in the middle of the grass, staring up at the sky, an emotionless expression on his tear-stained face. His bandage-covered wings twitched uselessly against his back, wanting nothing more than to flap and take flight.

But Blaine couldn't do that.

Cooper's heart throbbed in his chest as he thought of his little brother permanently grounded, never to fly again.

He thought back to when Blaine was a little fledgling. Cooper had taught him to fly before he even knew how to walk, something their parents weren't pleased with (all their parenting books advised against this, "the child will never learn to walk properly if they learn to fly first"). He thought back to those summer days where they raced and danced up in the sky. He thought back to just last Spring, when their favorite prank on each other was to fly at the other's window and scare the other at all hours of the night.

But now Blaine could never do any of that again. His wings were ruined, and all because of some dumb homophobes. Blaine was enduring the punishment of those in prison, those who'd committed such heinous crimes that the justice system clipped their wings.

The only problem was Blaine's only crime was being himself. And now he was stuck in his own prison.

Swallowing the sob that threatened to bubble out of him, Cooper walked from the window, making his way to the back patio door. Blaine didn't even turn to look at him as he made his way outside. Cooper slowly walked down the porch steps and rounded on Blaine, coming face to face with him. He waited until the teen finally looked from the sky and to his brother.

Without a word, Cooper took Blaine's hands in his, freeing his own wings. Blaine shook his head.

"I can't fly." Blaine whispered. It was all he said.

"Not without a little help." Cooper whispered back, swallowing his tears. Stepping forward he wrapped his arms tight around his brother. Pumping his wings, he slowly rose from the ground, holding tight to Blaine.

Blaine said nothing, tears merely continued to stream down his face as he rose into the air for the first time since he tried to escape at the dance.

They didn't go far, just a few yards into the air, but it was all Blaine needed. Cooper let his eyes slip closed, pressing his cheek into his little brother's curls as he sobbed quietly into Cooper's shoulder.

They stayed in the air until Cooper's wings cramped and ached. Hours had gone by. But still they said nothing. Slowly they came back to the ground, and without a word Cooper pulled his wings in, but he didn't let go of his brother.

"I love you Blaine." Cooper whispered, kissing Blaine's curls softly.

"Even if I'm useless?" Blaine whispered back, Cooper almost didn't even hear him.

"You're not useless." Cooper said, voice grave. "You're still you."

"But I can't fly." Blaine said again, voice breaking.

"And I don't know how to ride a two-wheeler. Do _you_ still love _me_?"

Despite Blaine's soft chuckle he whispered back, "It's not the same, Coop."

"But it is, B. It is. You're still you. You're still perfect. Nothing's going to change how much I love you." A quiet sob escaped Blaine and Cooper swallowed down his own.

The brothers stayed there in the back yard, just holding each other, on the ground, until the sun set and their mother called them back inside. Without a word they let go of each other and went back in, never to mention that day again but never to forget it either.

They _couldn't_ forget that day.

Blaine's first day home.


	5. Chapter 5

Random Drabble

00

Blaine stared upward, useless wings twitching against his back.

_Up. Somewhere I can never go again._

Blaine remembers flying. He remembers the freeing feeling of the wind in his hair. The feeling of his feathers warming in the sun, swaying in the breeze as he lazily circled his backyard. He remembers racing Cooper, having contests to see who can go the highest. He remembers flying laps in gym, and getting his feathers plucked by bullies during fly-football. He remembers his friend Alex, and showing him his wings for the first time.

Alex…he remembers Alex. He remembers how he and Alex coordinated their tuxes for the dance to match each other's wings. Alex had worn a dark navy blue suit, his tie a muted gold. Blaine word a gray suit and a black tie to match Alex's gray wings. He remembers going out to the school's back patio so he and Alex could dance off the ground with other flying couples.

He also remembers waiting in the parking lot for their ride since minors aren't allowed out flying past 10 o'clock. He remembers his wings fluttering nervously as Alex awkwardly flirted with him.

He also remembers the jocks approaching them. He remembers trying to fly away. He remembers the feeling of rough hands grabbing his wings and pulling him back down.

He especially remembers the sight of Alex flying away, not bothering to look back at Blaine.

So as Blaine looks up, watches his friends goof around in the air, nudging each other and tugging each other's wings, his useless wings twitch, wanting to badly to fly but being unable to.

All he has now is memories of flying. All his wings have are memories of the motions.

He can never go up. He can never take flight.

So Blaine retracts his wings, doesn't say a word, and simply watches his friends fly. And in his sadness he doesn't notice Kurt beside him, doesn't notice him retract his own wings. He's lost in thought, lost in his memories.

Because all he can do anymore is remember.


End file.
